Fulbright Reality Czech

Dawn Norris is a sociologist. She received her PhD and Master’s degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she teaches courses on how work/occupations, mental illness, and age link to the broader society. In Spring 2023, Dawn spent five months in Prague as a Fulbright Scholar. She taught  "Sociology of Work in the Czech Republic and in the United States" at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. Together with her Czech students, Dawn examined how national history, structure and culture impact trends and experiences on the job market. In addition, she conducted research on the meaning of work and unemployment to people living in and around Prague. Departure: Fear and Excitement I didn’t tell anyone that I was scared. For months, all I had talked about was Prague, Prague, Prague. I was excited, but also terrified. Almost six months in the Czech Republic as a Fulbrighter? What an opportu...

Cassandra Gutterman-Johns is a creative writer and stage manager. In the 2022/2023 academic year, Cassandra served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) at Gymnazium Strakonice, South Bohemia. With a BA in Creative Writing and Theater and minors in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies and Comparative American Studies, Cassandra was placed at a school that applied for an ETA in order to introduce students to a new culture, to discuss current themes, such as gender and multiculturalism, and to promote students' English conversation and debate skills. Cassandra enthusiastically built on her students’ tradition and interest in theater, and she helped lead an after-school drama club, where her students experimented with rhetorical techniques, practiced public speaking, and sharpened their English language skills in a creative way. She also led two conversation clubs at her school, participated in a community choir, and volunteered in English classes for young children. In he...

Mandy Lee is an artist and architect. In 2022/2023, she spent nine months in the Czech Republic, exploring the evolution of making and conceptualization of Czech glass from 1948 until today. In September, Mandy came to the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Her local Fulbright mentor and guide Petr Stanický , a Fulbright alumnus himself, currently heads the Glass Department at Univerzita Tomáše Bati in Zlín, and he was an invaluable source of information, inspiration, as well as tips for further exploration of various glass traditions all over the country. Throughout her stay, Mandy traveled extensively to research and compare various glass making techniques in “Crystal Valley” in northern Bohemia, Karlovy Vary, Janštejn, Valašské Meziříčí, among many others. She created a body of work in response to her travels. When comparing the Czech and American glass scene, Mandy shares that: “Something that really stands out to me is the differen...